Praying As the Lord has Taught Us: by Adrienne Hawkes
For years I have struggled with finding a way to incorporate personal devotion into my days. This is not to say a personal relationship with the Lord has been absent. In high school I experienced the Lord frequently through theological conversations facilitated by my favorite teachers. In college, my friendships and mentor relationships brought me close to the Lord as I experienced His grace through community. But, for as long as I can remember, I have found it difficult to consistently sit down and engage in a devotional time.
As I would go in and out of short time periods of reading a devotional book or a book of the Bible, I often found myself asking the same questions: What do I read? Should I read the Bible straight up? I often found that dry and difficult. Where should I start? Should I read a devotional book instead? I found that I was not learning much about the Scriptures or receiving much content from the Word of God. Should I read both a devotional and the Scriptures? As someone who didn’t already have a plan, I found that idea to be formidable.
In October, I became overwhelmed by these questions and a deeper realization of this life-long struggle. On a whim, I reached out to a lovely lady from my church that I had talked to one time (you know who you are, friend). After a two hour conversation, I left with a new understanding of what it could look like to spend time with the Lord each morning.
I realize today that all those questions I had been asking over the years were actually not the right questions. I was asking, "What can I do to best perform my daily tasks?", rather than, "How can I enter into daily conversation with my God?"
For the past few months, I have been learning about what it means to read the Scriptures and invest in a conversation with the Lord. While I would like to say I have done this everyday for the past three months, I cannot. I am in process, and thankfully we have a gracious God whose love already abounds and who seeks me out even when I forget to run to Him. When I do spend time with God, it incorporates a bit of reading the book of Mark (right now), a response to the Scriptures through journaling as I talk to God and ask Him to speak into my life through His Word, and finally a prayer.
It is this closing prayer that has transformed my mornings. When my friend told me to use the Lord's prayer as a structure for praying each day, I was surprised that this had never occurred to me. For 5 years in middle and high school, I knelt and prayed the Lord's prayer of Matthew 6 three times a week. It was simply a routine. I am amazed to say that it had never occurred to me that this seeming routine was actually a simple way to enter into conversation with the Lord, a way that was actually given to us by God in the flesh.
In the past month as I have prayed this prayer, even if I have to rush through it, even if I am feeling anxious or spiritually dry, even if I am distracted, I have seen the Lord show up consistently. As I force myself to slow down and contemplate each verse, offering my personal prayers between words of the prayer, I have seen the Lord work in my wandering heart.
Learning to enter into conversation with the Lord in this way has easily been the best part of my months as a Nashville Fellow. While I am a slow learner, I can say without a doubt that these conversations have opened up my personal relationship with Lord in a transformative way.
And now, praying as the Lord has taught us to pray.
Our Father in Heaven, hallowed be Thy name,
Dear God, you are so mighty, so awesome, and so abundant in grace and blessings that I do not deserve. Lord, even in a year of devastation and hurt in our world, you are present and in control. Lord, there is none that stands against you, and I thank you for revealing this not only through your truth but through your actions and very presence in my life.
Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done, on Earth as it Is in Heaven,
Lord, each day I think of almost nothing but my own will and way. Lord I ask that your will become my will. I ask that you let me release my perceived grip on my life. Let me forget my need for control and instead fall fully into your grace and unconditional love. I ask that you fill me with an incomprehensible faith in you. Let your will be done, even in the ways I am actively resisting you.
Give us this day our daily bread,
Lord you know that I am tired, you know that your people groan under the weight of sin. But Lord as you tell us, the Spirit groans with us and intercedes for us. I ask that you give me the strength I need to enter into my day. I ask that you not only sustain me, but that you transform me into a light for you in my daily actions. I ask that you fill me with the fruits of the Spirit today that I may live as you have taught us to live.
Forgive us our sins, as we forgive those that have sinned against us,
Lord, you know my heart, you know the dark condition of it. I confess that I am quick to fall into my habits of sin, quick to become consumed with worldly things, and slow to admit my need for grace. But Gracious Lord, I ask that you forgive me. Likewise, as an understanding of your forgiveness sinks into my heart, I ask that you let me forgive those around me that I perceive as having wronged me. No matter what the cause, Lord help me that see your people as you see them. Lord transform my heart into your heart.
Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from Evil.
God, there are so many temptations surrounding me every day. Lord I ask that you steer me away from the desire to fall into sin. Lord, instead I ask that you pull me into your arms, away from evil. Lord in your arms, there is a promise that is so much greater than the seemingly attractive promise of sin and evil. Watch over me, Jesus, and lead me away from these lies and toward your far greater gifts.
In Your name I pray,
Amen
